[hachkc]

Manufacturer: TR King
Retailer(s): www.apachepokerchips.com
Average Price: Average chip price $1.09 - $1.30 per chip
Material: Compression Molded Clay
Member Review by: hachkc

The Deadwood chips are a new line of TR King chips designed specifically for Apache Poker Chips by our own TenPercenter and Johnny5. These chips are only available from Apache Poker Chips. I believe the current Deadwood design actually replaced an earlier design known as the "Black Hills Casino" which was mocked up on the new Paulson home mold. The chips are available in the following denominations: 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5, $10, $25, $100, $500, $1000, $5000 and $25000.

Price

Chips are available in samples sets (1 of each), full sets or in packs of 10 specific chips.
Sample set: $14.30
Full sets: 100 for $119, 500 for $559 and 1000 for $1099 (options with cards & case available also).
10 pack: $13

Feel

I really like the feel of TR King chips. The first thing I noticed about them is the seamlessness of the inlay; it's impossible to to feel where the inlay stops and the chip starts. The inlay has the same fine linen/cross hatched feel that covers the rest of the chip. Also, the chips feel softer and slightly more worn in than other clay chips, similar although not to the same degree as the broken in feature of the Inplay clay chips from BPC. The chips seem a bit slicker than other clay chips such as Paulsons, ASMs and Blue Chips and visually they have a glossly look to them. I'm assuming this is a factor of them being new and they will wear with time. Overall, I would rate the feel of this chip better than the Classic and Pharaohs by Paulson, better than the stock Eagle ASMs and better than the Mardi Gras and Inplay Blue Chips. I would attribute the preference mostly towards the seemless inlay and fine linen/cross hatch finish across both the inlay and the chip. I should note all of these chips are in near mint condition due to minimal shuffling, so this may change as the chips are used more. Also, TR King chips are slightly smaller in diameter than other clay chips. The chips measure in between 38.5mm - 38.6mm. This is probably only an issue if you are mixing chip types and are using existing chip racks. TR King chips weigh in around 10 grams, which is close to the weight of many real casino chips.

Stacking

As for stacking, I was surprised and disappointed in the stacking of the chips. They didn't seem to stack as well as my Pharoahs or ASMs, but they did stack better than the Blue Chip BPC Inplays. Oddly, these chips didn't even stack as well as my cheap set of BPC Neophytes. This seems to somewhat counter to the other TR King chip review done by pantherhutch15 (link). My impressions on stacking may simply be a factor of the chips being in mint condition as I discussed above. I should note that my unscientific testing method was to simply place identically sized chip stacks next to each other on my poker table and start shaking it slightly to more violently until one of the chip stacks fell down.

Sound

Personally, this has never been a big issue for me as long as the chips don't sound like loose change rattling around. As for the Deadwoods, they sound fine with a slightly lower pitch than the new Paulsons, a more noticably lower pitch than the ASM's and a significanly lower pitch than the Inplays.

Looks

This category is totally subjective but I will try my best provide a fair and objective view here. First off, the theme of the chips is Old West which goes hand in hand with poker in my mind. The central design element is picture of Wild Bill Hickok with the "Deadwood Saloon & Casino" text below the picture. The design is simple and straightforward and I like the positioning of all the elements (picture, text and denomination). The detail is excellent for all of the elements. However, I feel there seems to be something missing form the design which may be simply be the amount of white space on the inlay. As for the edgespots, this set incorporates most of the TR King options such as no spots, 3x1x1/4, 4x1x1/2, 3 half moons, 4x1x1/4, 5x1x1/4 and 4x2x1/4. I should note that TR King's edgespots differ from most other manufacturers in that they are much more inconsistent across the individual chips. This isn't necessarily a negative, its just something to be aware of. Some folks believe this actually adds more character to the chips while others view it as a negative. Remember, most compression molded clay chips will have some inconsistencies in the edgespots, it is just more pronounced in the TR Kings. All of the chips are denominated (my personal preference) but it would have been nice to include in a non-denominational chip for flexibility. The chips are available in 11 denominations ranging from 25¢ to $25000 so there is plenty of flexiblity there already without a non-denomination. See the picture section below for detailed pictures.

Security/Originality

The security of these chips should be fairly high for a non-custom set even though they are generally available to anyone. The chips are only available from 1 reseller, cost over $1 even in quantity and are manufactured by TR King which means the have a very unique edgespot and mold style which really can't be duplicated. As for the originality, the Old West theme and poker seem to go hand in hand which would seem to limit the originality but I personally haven't seen any generally available high end home chips using an Old West theme other than the Apache Casino Chipcos which are a are only a loose connection.

Durability

The durability of the chips seems good and these chips should easily last a lifetime with normal home use. In comparing them to my other clay chips, new Paulson, ASM and Blue Chip, I was able to do more damage to the edge of the Deadwood chip than the others by deliberately gouging it with my fingernail. The damage wasn't significant or even noticiable unless you specifically looked for it. The Deadwoods and Pharaohs were the easiest to damage while the ASM and Blue Chips were the hardest to damage using this method.

Reviewers Comments

Everything said, these appear to be a fine set of chips especially if you like the Old West theme. TR King chips are one of the highest quality clay chips available to the consumer market and if you want to own a set, these would be an excellent choice. TR King does make custom sets for the consumer market but they are expensive for orders of less than 5,000 chips. At 5,000 chips, you will pay around $0.85/chip for an edgespotted, inlayed chip. TR King also offers some stock chips and will do hotstamped chips. My personal favorite chips in the set are the 25¢, $10 and $25 chips while my least favorite are the 50¢, $5000 and $25000 simply because I don't like the color schemes.

Chip Pictures

Scans of all the chips (thanks CaptLego)


Chip Stack (thanks CaptLego)
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